Unexpected Encounter: DO NOT RESET
by blazedveggies556
Summary: So you decided to take the chance. You couldn't let It go... but you couldn't make It stay. Maybe this is a good alternative. Definitely something new. Why not see what he has to say? Might be worth your time. [Definitely look at the author's note if you have not read Unexpected Encounter].
1. The Beginning of Something New

**02/08/20 Update:** **Hey! Blazedveggies556 here with something very quick to say.** **I had NO idea that I uploaded the wrong document to CH.2. I ended up posting CH.1 twice! For MONTHS!** **Ah, how embarrassing. Apologies for the blunder. That must have been VERY confusing. I updated it, so if you haven't gotten the chance to read that and you're still interested in the story, please go back and read that. Chapter 4 has a small reference to chapter 2.** **Again, apologies. That's really embarrassing.** **Until next time! :D**

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 **Author's Note:** Hello there! Welcome to my sequel of the first fanfiction I made for Undertale: Unexpected Encounter. If you have not read the first work and you are interested in reading this story, I recommend you read the first story before continuing. You can check out the first story on my profile.

Okay, with all that being said, enjoy the story!

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Y… you're…

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…Everything is… still here…

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… I… I still… remember…

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… Heh… guess I'll take that as a 'yes'…

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… To be honest, I… I didn't think… I thought that you might…

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Uh… well, doesn't matter now. The important thing is that you're here, and… I guess…you want to hear about what you missed… what you've been missing…

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(Ah geez, how do I even start…? How far did they see…? Maybe… yeah, I'm sure that's a good starting place).

You haven't seen the Surface, right?

I… I didn't immediately rush up there. I waited for all the monsters to leave before I looked. About a week. They collected their belongings. Their families. I was… kind of surprised it didn't take them longer. Well, maybe more… astonished at how empty the place got after so little time. Centuries worth of civilization, just… gone in an instant.

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Your… friends… left right after the barrier was broken. For a while they just stood there outside the cave like a bunch of id–– um, just uh… stood there in the light. I just sort of glanced at them from a distance. Didn't really see what they were looking at. Thought it was just the sky. What was the big deal anyway? I've seen better color schemes in paintings than just orange and yellow mixed together.

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At least… that's what I thought… until I actually went out there myself.

I… I couldn't help but just stand there, just like they had. It was overwhelming, but in a good way.

… You've… never felt it… have you?

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… For as long as I can remember, monsters have always speculated what the light above the Underground would feel like. Would it be as soft as the glow of the echo flowers in Waterfall? Or as harsh as the heat of the lava in Hotlands? There were only a few monsters who could really remember how it felt, but they each had their own way of describing it. Gerson said it felt like laughter that was bottled up inside, but instead of exploding into a boisterous guffaw, it would seep out as quiet giggles that would keep you content until it gave out for the night, replenishing the next morning. Asgore said it was like the feeling he got when he was reading to… his kids, the feeling he got whenever he saw their smiling faces…. Toriel… she said it was like… (how did it go again) … like… "an embrace… by someone very dear to you, and it is as if they will never let go. When they finally do, it saddens you a little bit, but you know that they will be back the next day, so you are excited for what tomorrow will bring" … that's how she always described it.

And then I felt it for myself. It was kind of intense. I even felt like I was burning for a few seconds. But only a few seconds. Then it was just relief, like a weight had been lifted, and I could've sworn I felt it fly away with the breeze blowing by. If I had to describe it, I guess… I guess it reminded me of the times I'd get scratches and bruises when I played with… my best friend. They sure loved to roughhouse! Hehehe… yeah, it would sting but I always felt better when she would give it a kiss. You know who…

…

You know, thinking about it now, that wasn't my first time on the Surface. I'm sure you already know what happened, and I… I don't really want to talk about it much, but looking back at it, I don't think I even really felt what it was like to be outside the Underground. I didn't notice. All I felt was… the… the uh…

Mmmm… on second thought, let's not talk about that…

…

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It's kind of weird. It's not like sunlight is a foreign thing. I mean, obviously most of the monsters never saw the sun while they were underground. But the Barrier let in the light and the sounds of the Surface. You've seen the hall leading to the Throne Room, so you know what I'm talking about. In the earlier days of the Underground, just about every monster passed by there, whether it'd be to attend the balls the Dreemurrs would hold, to ask the Dreemurrs for advice, or simply to marvel at the light that came through the stain glass windows. That probably seems pretty dumb. Light is light, right? What really made it different from anything else, from… say… the light from a lamp? Well… a lamp is a _source_ of light. That light that came through the windows, there was no source. At least, from within the Barrier, you couldn't see the source. You couldn't see the sun, you couldn't see the stars.… Whatever spell those magicians used to make the Barrier, it wasn't just something that they came up with willy-nilly. They knew what they were doing…

I remember one time I thought, "What good are these windows if you can't even _feel_ what's out there? You can see it (barely), but you can't _feel_ it?" I asked him that once. Asgore. He said that the hall was like "a beacon of hope for his people", or something like that.

… Hmm… even thinking about it now… I think it was the opposite. Like rubbing salt on the wound. He didn't do it on purpose, obviously, but… just think about it. The Barrier was _designed_ to let in light and sounds. Why didn't it completely cut every sense off from the Surface? I'm sure it could've easily been done. But they didn't. Instead they made small pieces of the Surface still tangible to the Monsters so they would want something that was impossible to get. Letting in more of that light only strengthened that desire…

If you can't harm someone physically anymore, why not harm them psychologically?

…

Genius. Cruel, but genius.

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… The Barrier sure acted funny when a strong force met it. Where the entrance to the Surface is, where the Barrier loomed over the most, that area wasn't always so spacious. When the Monsters thought it was safe enough to travel further into the Underground, they found that cavern. The stone there seemed flimsier than what they had encountered everywhere else, so they thought that maybe that this point… _this_ was the Barrier's weak spot. They took a chance and started working on breaking down the stone walls. They were wrong, of course. *tch* I don't even know why they thought it would work. The Barrier wasn't the mountain, it was _The Barrier_. Two different things.

…

Well… I guess I can't blame them. It was hard to tell what was the mountain and what was the Barrier. The Barrier was invisible, so some of them were even skeptical that this "Barrier" even existed. Maybe it was an illusion the Humans came up with to make the Monsters stay underground.

That is until they struck it on accident while uncovering more of the cavern. With one great blow, the Barrier pulsated and howled as if some great beast had been disturbed. The weirdest thing about it was that instead of _radiating_ energy from the point of contact, it actually seemed to _absorb_ it as large rings of black and white concentrated themselves at that point of contact. That's how Asgore put it. More or less.

It settled after some time, but it stay––

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 **Author's Note:** Hoped you enjoyed my work! If you have any suggestions to what Flowey should talk about in the story, let me know. I can't guarantee that they'll make it into the story, but I can guarantee that all suggestions will be considered.

Everything's caught up with my AO3 account now, so this will be the last story uploaded here for a while. I'm not sure how many chapters this will be, but I have a lot of ideas that will be used here and I have a general outline going. I just need to get things organized.

Well, until next time!


	2. You left

**Author's Note:** **Hey guys! This chapter took a while, but I'm glad I finally got it done. Hope you guys enjoy!**

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Wow.

That was really rude. What you did. Leaving in the middle of a conversation like that. Gee, hope you don't do that to others. You wouldn't be able to make a lot of friends that way.

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… *sigh*… I really thought about being angry at you once you got back… if you came back, but there's no point, is there? I mean, I'm still kind of confused and a little…

Mostly confused. I thought to myself when you left, "What? Did they just leave? Why? Why would they do that?" But those are silly questions to ask, aren't they? Because what you did is exactly what I was talking about. You're acting just like me. You left because you were bored. Plain and simple. That's pretty much what I did in your position.

But there's a big difference between you and me, isn't there? It's the reason why you're still here. It's something that doesn't come natural to me anymore.

… It's this sentimentality you have, right? Why else wouldn't you reset after that first pang of boredom? No other reason makes sense! That maybe… maybe… I was wrong… and you actually _do_ care… a-about them… at least a little bit…

I could even be wrong about that. I am sure of one thing, though. That power you have. The temptation WILL grow to use it. If you let it. So please… I'm asking that part of you that cares… please… listen to what I say. I can't promise anything else besides me. Being here. Talking to you. I can't even guarantee I'll say something you want to you hear about. But that's all there is and that's all there'll ever be. Please… listen, for them. For at least… f-five minutes? H-how does that sound? That was about how long you stayed last time. You got other places to be, right? Well, while you're here in this world, five minutes is all I ask of your time. Deal?

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…I'll just uh… assume that's a 'yes', eh heh heh… (this will be one of the more one-sided conversations I've had…)

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Um… let's see, how is this going to work… hmm…

… I'll be right back. I'm going to get something that should help. Hang on.

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Ah 'igh. *ptoo* here it is. It's a timer. They still have some supplies left at the school. No surprise that they've left things here. Everyone was pretty hasty to move out. I'm sure they won't notice if one little timer is missing, so… here it is. Let's see… (adding together how long I was gone for with… how long you've been here now… mmm…) … that should be… about three minutes and forty-five seconds left. And then you can leave. Sound good?

So…

Let's just…

Talk.

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I'm guessing you want to hear about your _friends_ , right? They've been enjoying themselves. Toriel became the teacher she always wanted to be; Undyne and Alphys work for Toriel; Asgore opened up his own gardening shop; Papyrus does odd jobs here and there around the city, but he's saving up his money to maybe run for mayor; and Sans… well, wherever his brother is, that's where you'll find him.

They've all been pretty busy with their own lives, but somehow, they manage to find time to hang out together, even if it's not the whole group at once. Like there was one weekend when Undyne went to see Alphys at her house. Typically on any given weekend and weekday evening you'll find them inside watching those "anime" shows, season after season, series after series. As if there's nothing else to watch. But one Saturday, Undyne showed up to Alphys' house bright and early wearing a jogging tracksuit and carrying a large jug of water. From the way it looked I'm guessing Papyrus must have given it to her as a gift. She never turns away anything he gives her. Ever. She actually has a designated closet where she keeps all that garbage. If she keeps that up, she'll have to get a tool shed. Wouldn't be surprised if Papyrus helped her build it, even if he knew what is was for. He's like that.

Anyways, she's jogging in place and banging on the door. Alphys comes out all disheveled and wrapped in a blanket, but Undyne didn't bat her eye, telling Alphys that they were going to go out for a run together. Ha ha ha! I would've liked to see that lizard try, but that obviously wasn't going to happen. She just laid on her carpet and groaned, "WHY do I have to do thiiiiissss?"

Undyne wanted her to get out more. "You can't spend all day cooped up in your house, Alphs. You gotta be out here soaking up all the sun's sweet Vitamin K!" she said to Alphys. Alphys was already inching her way back to her room, mumbling something about the letter D.

Undyne then tried to persuade her by describing running as "getting punished by the earth and punching it back with your feet", as if that makes the idea any more appealing. Not the most persuasive person, but she's persistent, I'll give her that. They ended up coming to a compromise: instead of a run, they'd be going for a quick walk up the hills (though how quick can a walk up the hills really be?), Alphys could bring her phone, and on their way back down, Undyne would carry Alphys the rest of the way. Undyne said it gave her resistance training anyway, though I'm sure that's not the only reason she went along with it.

So off they went on their climb and who did they happen to meet on the way there? Asgore. Apparently, he had the same sort of idea and wanted to get some fresh air in, so they all went on this walk together. Eventually they come to a huge field of flowers. They were all awestruck like they've never seen flowers before. There were a lot of good hiding spots, though, I'll admit.

And, of course, the first thing the old man does is stick his face in them to smell them. He comes back up and his beard was full of flowers and pollen. He looked ridiculous, but Undyne and Alphys thought he was adorable. "Pose for the camera!" they told him. He holds up the peace sign and smiles for them.

Then a whole swarm of bees came flying out of his beard at them. They all go running down the hills after that! So I guess I did get to see Alphys run after all! Ha ha ha ha! *sigh* Glad I was there.

… Hmm… what else has happened… well, like I was saying, Toriel became the teacher she always wanted to be, opening her own school. It's small, but everyone who attends seems to like it there. She had the chance to teach in the city, but she wanted to open her own school, preferring to teach a smaller group. "It's more intimate that way. I get the chance to watch all these children I've taught grow up. All their dreams and aspirations. How fulfilling it will be to be directly involved with them." That's how she explained her reasoning during a conversation with Sans.

Recently her school had a play. Any of her students could participate, but it was mostly the grade school kids who were in it, including Frisk. The play had something to do with summer or something. I'm not sure. I can't pop inside buildings, you know. I do know what Frisk dressed up as, though.

A golden flower.

Out of _all_ the roles you can give the kid, you give them THAT? What, so I guess the blade of grass was taken?

-!

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Well, time's up. You can leave now.

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See you later.

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 **Author's Note: So that's all I got for now, but I hope you liked it. Check out my profile for an update. Until next time!**


	3. Back here again

**A/N: Hi there! It's been a while since my last post, but I finally got around to doing another chapter for Unexpected Encounter: DO NOT RESET! Enjoy!**

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Hi again.

Still coming back here, huh?

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Well, anyway, I have the timer going, so…

What to talk about today…

… You know, thinking about our last conversation, I didn't say too much about those two skeletons, did I? Didn't have much to say about them then, but I've had them on my mind since this morning. I saw them hanging up and handing out flyers about the upcoming mayoral election. Turns out Papyrus _is_ running for mayor! He was handing flyers to whoever he set his eyes on, even if they were on the next street over forty feet away from him. And he was giving everybody a whole stack of flyers! "THIS ONE IS FOR IF YOU LOSE A FLYER AT THE BARBER SHOP. THIS ONE IS FOR IF YOU LOSE A FLYER WHILE WALKING YOUR PET. AND THIS ONE IS FOR IF YOU LOSE A FLYER WHILE READING IN THE SHOWER. I FIND THAT LAST ONE TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM FOR ME!" All his campaign money must've gone to the ink he used.

Sans was also helping… in his own way. He gave a five-dollar bill to everyone who took a flyer. It wasn't real money, though. Heh, like Sans would ever _give_ money away. Not without a good reason. Off topic, but he's actually pretty frugal. He always went to Grillby's for food whether it be for meals or snacks. Always. But he never paid more than a few gold each day since he usually ordered the cheapest burger (and, honestly, the worst burger) on the menu. He was the best customer, though, 'cause of how often he came, so Grillby would let Sans get some fries or a bottle of ketchup for free from time to time.

Anywho, he was giving these bills and one guy thought it was real money. "Are you bribing me, skeleton?" Yeah, needless to say, this guy wasn't too pleased, but Sans just shrugs it off. He's not the kind to get defensive.

"take it as you will." *cough cough* (Ugh… his voice is hard to mimic.)

*ehem* Anyway *ehem*, Sans says this and winks, and the guy was going to say something else, but then he actually _looked_ at the bill. I couldn't see what his said, but from a few I've seen on the ground, the bill has a picture of Papyrus' face with a pun underneath it. "Vote for Papyrus. It just makes _cents_." Wouldn't that pun work better for a coin, though? I don't know what Sans was thinking. Maybe he just likes irritating people, and he managed to do just that with that guy who folds up the bill and puts it in his pocket, leaving without even mumbling an apology. Mmm… guy was a jerk anyway.

… Besides doing those bills, Sans also helped Papyrus with improving his car. Well, er… "improving" may not be the best word for it. They were using some house paint to decorate the car with a bunch of flames to really make Papyrus stand out (because goodness knows he just wasn't cutting it with his obnoxiously loud voice and overinflated ego). After a few days and a few dozen of Sans' breaks later, it… came out kind of decent. Not spectacular, but if you squinted, it could pass for one of those 'hot bods'… wait, no… 'hot'… 'hot rods'. Yeah, 'hot rods'.

But that didn't last too long. Papyrus couldn't wait to drive his car as soon they finished— rain, sleet, snow, or shine. It was rain. Just… *sigh*… I don't… why not at least wait for the paint to dry? He goes and he drives around town and the whole time gobs and gobs of bright orange, yellow, and red paint are just sliding off the car. He didn't notice until he opened up the car roof in his garage and some of the paint fell on him. That was the least of his troubles, though. Paint was tracked across the whole town! Everywhere he went that day there was paint! He left a huge trail of it behind him like a pathetic tri-color rainbow! There were even humans and monsters _following_ the trail to see where it led, which was to, like I was saying, the dummy brothers' house. They were all outside of the garage asking Papyrus why he painted the road. I've never seen Papyrus so tongue-tied. That rarely happens, but then Sans comes out and says it was part of the campaign. "be on _fire-us_ for _Papyrus_ ". *Tch* That one was a stretch, even for him.

Buuut they believed him. They even commended the two for keeping the trail so consistent in quality. Things always work out for them, don't they? … 'Course, the brothers weren't going to let all that paint stay there, so they offered their help to the Ebott City District Cleaning Crew. They didn't have to do that but that's the way the two are. It kept them busy for a while. I'm pretty sure their work enhanced their credence, too. W—… I'll make sure to keep tabs on the election. See how it goes.

… Heh… 'election'… sounds so weird to me when I think about who's running in it. I never pegged Papyrus as the kind of person to be a natural leader. I mean, he still has to be read a bedtime story every night, for crying out loud! And nothing about his room has changed by the way. Well… really the whole house hasn't changed besides the addition of a garage. Honestly, it's like they could have just taken their house from the underground and transplanted it to the Surface. Would've saved them the time.

Anyway, my point is that it's hard to see him as getting elected as any sort of official… though… it's not exactly _impossible_ either. He's naïve, sure, but I can't go as far as to call him incompetent. At first glance, yeah… yeah, he did (and he still does) seem that way, but there's definitely more to him than meets the eye.

Did you know he actually soundproofed his room by himself? The one in the underground. Sans would've helped him, but Papyrus insisted on doing his own room alone. He said something about how a bedroom is a reflection of a monster's very being. If it's tidy and put together through one's own hard work, it shows how great, friendly, and honest that monster is. I mean… yeah, like… I could see where he was going with that. Though, you could apply that to anything you own, but to each his own, I guess.

Anyhow, it really was something. I even told him that a few times. He insulated the walls with a bunch of foam pads, pillow feathers, and packing peanuts. Eh heh… sounds pretty ridiculous, but, hey, it worked. Somehow, he got lucky enough to find all that stuff in the garbage. Not a lot of it, but he made do with what was there. And boy, you really couldn't hear anything from the outside coming in. It was… a little eerie, but impressive anyway.

Besides that, though, there was also this one time where he was babysitting some kids in Snowdin. Sort of. No one ever asked him to do it, but whenever there were a group of kids playing, Papyrus saw it as his duty to make sure they were safe (in addition to his whole 'Royal Guard' thing). He could be kind of a killjoy sometimes with how serious he would get with this job, but one day the kids convinced him to play in their Snowball fight. He ran to the librarb… *tch* *sigh*… _library_ to find an instruction manual on how to play (and yeah, there was a book like that. I read it. It's as boring as rocks), but before he could start telling the kids about it, they had already started playing.

"WAIT! WE HAVE TO START FROM THE BEGINNING! 'THROWING BALLS OF SNOW' ISN'T UNTIL STEP 22!" he was saying, but then… uh…

…

… Guess time's up. Um… but… maybe I could finish up really quick? I didn't get to tell you the whole story.

…

… Okay, um, well… anyway, Papyrus ends up putting himself in the middle of the game and keeps the kids from playing. There were six of them at the beginning, but when the fight settled, there were only five. He started freaking out because he thought a kid got buried alive in the snow (like the manual said in one of its ridiculous warnings) and he rallies the Snowdin Canine Unit to plow through the snow. Now, no one really took Papyrus seriously back then (and to an extent, they still don't), but the guy has a lot of passion for whatever he's doing and he's very persistent. Persistence is what he and Undyne have in common. So he ends up convincing the Canine Unit to help him dig through the snow, but all they found were dirt and rocks. The kid that Papyrus thought died came back from lunch to see a bunch of dirty dogs and one sheepish skeleton. Ha, yeah. The dogs were a little less inclined to believe Papyrus about such emergencies from then on, but that never took away from the fact that when he puts his mind to it, Papyrus can be an effective leader.

Yeah…

… Well, um… you can go.

…

… Bye.

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 **A/N: What'd you think? Did you like it? Let me know your thoughts in the review section. I love to hear what my readers have to say!**

 **Also, expect the next chapter for this story next week at around this time. I already have it finished but I want to see if I can get another chapter done before I post another work. We'll see how it goes, but regardless of whether I finish chapter 5, chapter 4 WILL be posted next week.**

 **Until next time! ;)**


	4. Late at Night

**A/N:** **Hey there! Blazedveggies556 here with another chapter for Unexpected Encounter: DNR! This is probably my favorite chapter that I've written so far. It was a lot of fun and I hope that joy translates to my work.**

 **Enjoy!**

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Huh?

… What are you doing here this late at night? You've never come at this time. If I had known you were here, I would have showed up earlier. … How long have you been waiting here?

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Can't sleep, maybe? That is… if you _do_ sleep.

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The stars are very bright tonight. Have you seen them? … Can you see them? Well… I can describe them to you. Hope you don't find that insulting if you can see them, but, um… they're… they're like if… if you harnessed the shine from the brightest of crystals and scattered it across a black cavern wall. Or… took a bucket of sparkling river water and threw it across some pavement. Or… like… like there're millions of people… out there in the dark who are trying to find solace in company. They each light a lantern to let other people know that they exist. Each one of them is too afraid to move more than an inch or two as the night goes on, but seeing the other lights around them, even if those other lights are miles and miles away from them… they don't feel so alone anymore…

… Uh *ehem*… or, uh, something like that. I don't know.

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… One thing's for sure, though. You can get lost in thought just by staring at the stars for so long, mostly thoughts about the unknown. At least that's how it is for me. Heh, it's not good to do that for too long. Thoughts like that can drive you insane. But… sometimes you can't help it.

… There's this one thought, this one question, that's been eating at me for a while, since I, uh… felt maybe somebody was out there. I… I know you can't answer, but…

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… What are you?

I know I've said before that you're not human or monster and I still stand by that notion. I mean, I can't see you, for Pete's sake! No body, no SOUL, so you can't be human or monster. That makes sense. But, then… _what_ are you?

… There was this one theory about you I had for a while. I used to think you were all powerful, all knowing, all present. Considering how much you changed the world through your influence alone, it wasn't a bad guess to think that you were a god. Never seen, but always there.

But you aren't a god, are you? I shouldn't even ask. I _know_ you are not. Every time you come here, it's always in the same spot— well, the same area, anyway. Maybe you're able to move around a little. I'll never know. But it's always here at the beginning of the Ruins that you come. The more frequent your visits got, the more patterns I noticed and the more constants I discovered. Location is definitely one of those constants. And what god wouldn't have the power to get out of this dump? I mean, really, would you _choose_ to stay here? No. I know you wouldn't. So, that crosses that little idea off the list.

… What could you be then? The other options aren't any better. Ghost. Spirit. Those ideas have the same problem. You would still be able to move around if you were either of those things. They come with a certain… (what's the word) … 'tangibility'? Not in the physical sense, but in a 'your existence is _here_ ' sort of sense.

Hmm… now that I think about it, though, you _could_ be a spirit… perhaps reconciling for past sins in this cycle of power and helplessness. An exit from your present state is not without conditions…

Mmm, no no no no. That doesn't make sense, either. It doesn't explain everything, if really anything! Where do you go when you're not here? How do you have determination without a physical body? What is this… this… 'feeling'… this 'feeling' that… it's… *sigh*…

It's very difficult to describe.

… It's… it's like this… well, it… it comes with a sound. A very faint sound, like humming. Something that could easily be drowned out by another noise or taken as a sign of drowsiness. A humming that… comes from a… a kind of… 'energy'—no no. Uh, not 'energy'. It's more like a… weak pulse… when you're here. Sometimes it's so weak, it's hard to tell if it's only my imagination…

But, interestingly, before I started talking to you, after everyone had left, this 'feeling' grew stronger the longer you stayed and the more frequently you visited. It got to the point where I realized this pulse wasn't something that was new. It was always there when Frisk was here, but it wasn't anything noticeable. Nothing to really think about… until everyone had left, and I noticed… that there were more than just people missing. Then when it came back without anyone being here… without Frisk being here… things became clearer.

Eventually I could predict when the 'feeling' seemed strongest. Afternoon to early evening… that's when you usually come. I don't know why. Heh… is that when you have the most time to spare? Well, whatever the reason, I began to show up here during that time to test that hypothesis, and yes, though the intensity varied, it seemed strongest then.

Then while you just hung around, I would venture out far into and from the mountain to see if the 'feeling' was still there. The farther I got from the Ruins, the weaker the 'feeling' would get, but if I remained in the mountain, the 'feeling' was always there. But outside of it, it seems non-existent, so I thought that if I stayed in the mountain during the predicted time, no matter where I chose to be, I would know when you were here.

And I was right. I can't predict _exactly_ when you'll come, of course, but I could tell when you were here. And now that I've figured out when you come, frequency doesn't play such a big role anymore since you, uh, only come once a day now, so the pulse isn't as strong as it was initially, but I've gotten a lot better at discerning it.

Until today when you decided to show up in the dead of night. You really confused me! I didn't feel anything earlier, but then I was thinking, "Am I really not feeling anything or am I just not noticing it?" I go to the Ruins. Nothing. I go to Snowdin. Nothing. I go back to the Ruins. Still nothing. Waterfall. Nothing. Back and forth I go from location to location thinking that maybe you could move around after all. But, no. Late evening I realized it truly was nothing, so I left to go look for things to talk about for tomorrow. THEN you finally show up! Augh… look, if you're gonna be here, can you at least be consistent?

Oh… whatever… it wasn't any more confusing than when you leave. That takes real concentration to figure out! Remember that time you left in the middle of our conversation? He he… I'll never let you forget it. Anyway, I don't know how much longer I talked for after you left, but I FINALLY noticed that the 'feeling' was gone when I paused to think. … That humming. … It's strange, but it's like the vibrations of a voice… subtle. Guess I mistook the sounds of my own voice for the humming. Then of course I was not concentrating on the 'feeling' while I was talking. That timer I got is a big help, otherwise I—

… Shoot! The timer. I forgot all about it. I— ah. No, there's no point in using it now. I don't even know how long you were here before I showed up. *sigh*… I was _going_ to say that the timer keeps things organized. I finish talking, I leave, you leave. And since I stop talking before you leave, I've been able to concentrate on how that 'feeling' disappears. It doesn't abruptly stop existing. Instead, it fades. I waited a few minutes until it seemed like the 'feeling' was gone, then went out of the mountain to compare. At some point, yes, the 'feeling' leaves the mountain, and I guess… that means you're gone.

I… still have trouble wrapping my head around this, ha ha. … Yeah, it's hard coming up with all this stuff myself. From all the books I've seen, from all the information I've gathered, I haven't seen anything or heard about anything quite like you. You truly are an anomaly.

Well, I think it's way past five minutes now. I know all this talk wasn't anything _new_ about your friends or the world but maybe you found that somewhat amusing. To know that someone here is thinking about you in a sort of… cosmic fashion.

…

Night.

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 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed the story! Let me know your thoughts by writing a review. I would greatly appreciate it!**

 **So for those of you who are keeping up with this story, I don't have another chapter ready to go just yet. I'm still working on chapter 5. I _might_ be able to post it next week, but we'll see how it goes.**

 **Don't forget to check my profile for updates! I update my status every so often.**

 **Well, until next time!**


	5. Your Full Attention

**A/N: Yes! Another chapter out! This will probably be the last chapter I write for a while. I got a lot planned for this story, but I don't have anything more written yet, but I will get it done! Don't worry. ;)**

 **Enjoy this chapter!**

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See? Isn't that better when you come at a more predictable time? That way you won't be waiting for so long. Good to see you're back on schedule. Sure makes things a lot easier.

… There. Timer's going.

So, what to talk about today… um… let me think…

I wanted to say something about the election but there was nothing new yesterday or today, and it doesn't seem like there will be anything new for the next couple of days. Apparently that last time I saw those skeletons handing out flyers was the last time they were doing it until 'Speech Day' where all the candidates talk about why they should be elected. Guess there's this lull going on until then, so I'll just have to wait to get any more info about it.

… Yeah. Nothing exciting has happened lately. Mundane stuff, really. But mundane isn't exactly _monotonous_. Sure, thrilling stuff doesn't happen all the time but something different is always happening, even on slow days like these where everyone can do what they like. They all have some way to enjoy themselves.

Toriel, for example, enjoys experimental cooking. She's more of a 'by the book' sort of person, so it was surprising to see her take up this hobby. I guess it's not much of a stretch, though, especially considering that her main ingredient is snails. She loves those lil' critters! She would use it in every dish if she could. Snails don't have much of a taste to them. It depends on the seasoning you use, so if she _really_ wanted to, she _could_ add them to any dish. I think the only thing (or rather, the only _person_ ) stopping her is Frisk. You should have seen their face the first time Toriel said she was making snail pie for dinner. Their face just drops! Ha ha ha ha! Heh… Th-then they tried to take it back by smiling (obviously afraid they would hurt Toriel's feelings), b-but it came out as a grimace! HA HA HA! He he… *sigh*. It's amusing because Frisk is not a picky eater, but they can't seem to bring themself to eat this one thing. Can't imagine why!

Toriel doesn't cook for only herself and Frisk, though. They always seem to have company over, whether it be teacher friends Toriel makes from other schools or friends that Frisk makes and those friends' parents. I haven't even mentioned the cooking lessons that Toriel gives to Undyne and Papyrus. Those are typically in the evening. I never got to see how the first few lessons went, but boy! They must have been a doozy judging by what I've seen. Undyne almost set fire to Toriel's house— twice! And Papyrus keeps insisting on putting spaghetti into EVERY recipe.

"But, Toriel, we can't show people our passion if we don't add in a few hot knuckle sandwiches!"

"AND MY SPAGHETTI ALWAYS PUTS A SMILE ON EVERYONE'S FACE. WE CAN'T ROB THEM OF THAT SPECIAL JOY!"

They said something along those lines, but with Toriel's stern technique (and stern glare. She can be pretty intimidating, you know), Undyne and Papyrus came around to her style of cooking. They'll still have a few qualms here and there, but they go along with the lesson for the most part. I'm not sure if they've ever made something edible, but they all eat it, so it must be good, right?

Anyway, that's all I can think of for Toriel.

Let's see… well, since I was just talking about her, Undyne also has things she does on slow days (besides anime…). They mainly involve exercising. She had a membership at a 24-hour gym once, but she lost it after the treadmill incident. I told you she's a gym teacher at Toriel's school, right? … Mmm… wait… no, I don't think I did. Well, doesn't matter anyway. I mention it because the incident happened during her little training regimen before a track and field day. The school has one of those every so often where the kids run, pole vault, long jump, those kinds of things. Undyne goes right alongside the kids, running with them and yelling out encouragement. There're nearly one hundred kids at this school, but somehow, she manages to run alongside each one of them for a few minutes at a time. It would be impressive if it wasn't so unnecessary.

But, anyway, she trains a whole bunch before that day, and I really mean that! Her training can take weeks! And that's just from what I've seen. Her training usually goes off without a hitch, though. I don't know what it was that was different about this one particular track and field day, but she seemed much more… um… aggressive than usual when she was getting ready for it. She was running hard on a treadmill at the gym and she kept running harder and harder, faster and faster! You could see smoke coming off that treadmill. That's how fast she was going. The gym receptionist came over to her and asked Undyne to stop, but it's like she couldn't hear them. She just kept getting more aggressive, even going faster than the treadmill could go, until finally the treadmill slipped from under her and went flying, crashing right through the ceiling! That… that was a first. Undyne seemed really proud of herself for running so well… until she saw how much damage she caused. She offered to pay for it (apparently, she's no stranger to breaking things at the gym) but the manager told her it'd be best if she took her business elsewhere. Guess that was the final straw. Didn't dampen her spirits, though. She mostly exercises at home now by herself or with Papyrus doing regular exercise things or battle practice.

Um… besides her, who else… haven't I talked about… Alphys, well, she spends most of her free time doing something involved with anime. That's nothing new to you, although she does watch martial arts films from time to time, but that's only because Undyne's gotten interested in them. Alphys won't watch those on her own.

… Who else… oh, yeah. Asgore. Of course, gardening is a hobby he enjoys in general besides having it as part of his job, but he also enjoys tea making. In fact, that's also become a little side business for him. His tea caught the eye of Muffet when Frisk was sharing some of Asgore's special blend with all their friends during the winter season. They had quite a few canteens of it in a red wagon and they were lugging it around, sharing it with everyone. They brought some to Muffet and in that first sip she was head over heels for it! It didn't really show on her face, but she gets this weird glint in her eyes when she _really_ likes something. When she found out Asgore was the one who made it, she went to his place to ask if she could make it an item on her list, promising to share some of the revenue. "It wouldn't be 50/50, though~. I have so many mouths to feed~. So many feet to shoe~. My portion would be a teensy, eensy bit bigger, but you'd get all the credit for the tea, dearie~. Do we have a deal?"

"No way, lady!" … Alright, that's not what he said (I would have said that though…). He was very estatic about it and the deal blossomed into what's called Teatime Tuesday where Asgore comes in once a week (on Tuesday, obviously) and makes various blends for the bakery. Some people call it Triple T-day. Those people would be the kind who want to sound cool and end up saying something dumb instead. But that's just this silly flower's opinion.

Well, enough about that. Let's see… (Toriel, Undyne… Alphys… Asgore… Muffet! … uh…) … um… w—…

Say… you're not expecting me to go through the whole list of monsters you've seen in the Underground, are you? I'm only one being. I can't keep tabs on EVERYONE! A lot of the monsters you met don't even live in Ebott City. They've spread out everywhere on this planet. The world's a lot bigger than you think. Than… I thought.

…

Oop. There goes that timer.

I'll talk to you later, okay?

Bye now.

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 **A/N: Well, that's all I got for a while. If you got any feedback, be sure to leave a review! Critique of any kind is welcome. :)**

 **Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! Blazedveggies556 here with another chapter for you. If you wanna see what I'm working on next, check out my profile for an update. Enjoy!

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*huff*… *puff*… Hi… *huff*… give me one minute…

…

…

… Okay… gah… *huff*… normally I'm not so winded coming over here, but it's a different story coming from the CORE. It is _boiling_ over there… *huff*…

… That and I was almost seen. Spent a little too long observing, but I wanted to see what that Alphys was doing. Seems like she and some others were making some adjustments to the CORE. Nothing big, but it's not often that someone is down here.

I also haven't been there in a while. Hotlands isn't the most pleasant place for a flower to be, so it's mainly an area I pass through but don't stay in. But today was different. I got a real good look at the CORE while I was there. I forgot how impressive it is! And some of the memories that come along with it, too.

I mean, it's not a lot I remember. Just little things like how the CORE used to look before all those annoying 'swapping maze' features were added, the constant reworking of the capital layout due to changes in the CORE's structure. I even remember walking in on one of Asgore and Toriel's discussions about the CORE with the Royal Scientist. That's one of my fuzzier memories for some reason. … I think I was asking for dinner or my pacifier or something. I don't know, something stupid. But, uh… if I _really_ think about it… the fuzziest part of that memory is the Royal Scientist themself. … I can't even remember what they look like. I'm not talking about Alphys, by the way, in case I didn't make that clear. I'm talking about the previous Royal Scientist. One day they just disappeared without a trace, and funny enough, though they're the one who came up with most of the stuff that maintained monster society, no one remembers ANYTHING about them. They'll come up during passing conversations, but it's more like remembering WHAT they were rather than WHO they were.

Hm… oh, well. One of those mysteries you just don't dwell on.

… Oh! Wait, hold on. I forgot the— give me a second. I'll be right back.

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*ptoo* okay. I keep forgetting this darn thing. Maybe I should just keep it here, but I don't want it left out in the open… so… I don't know. I'll just have to be better at bringing it.

… Alright, got the timer going.

Alphys is still there at the CORE, by the way. I checked. She's spending quite a bit of time there. It's been a good while since she has spent _that_ much time there… did I tell you about the time she presented the CORE to the mayor? I doubt it. It's one of the longer stories. But I guess I could tell you now. I don't have anything recent to talk about, anyway. Not until 'Speech Day' tomorrow.

So Alphys still works on a lot of science projects, things that she thinks will benefit the community, though I don't see how they're practical. Like… (what was it…?) … she made a stand that could hold a book over your face and turn the pages for you as you lie in bed. She also invented hot ice cream. Not spicy ice cream. HOT ice cream that looks like the normal stuff. Weird things like that, but people seem to enjoy it and she invents these things fast. However, back around the time monsters first came to the Surface, she wanted to be known for something big. Something that would make her stand out. That desire came about when the mayor approached her about becoming a consultant. Frisk put in a good word for Alphys when discussions of scientific advancements had come up at City Hall. Word had also gotten around among the humans that Alphys was once the royal scientist for monsters. That's not a detail she's keen on sharing with just anyone she meets, but I guess gossip is a trait shared by both races. Oh, of course, monsters knew to keep their mouths shut about the determination experiments. It was other things that Alphys did that caught the attention of the mayor.

The mayor proposes to Alphys the plan for her to present on the monsters' greatest invention— the CORE. There was a big problem with that ask and Alphys knew that right away, but when Alphys gets flustered she just can't get the right words out in time. The mayor interrupts her, saying, "Only if you would like! I don't want to pressure you, but I don't think your talent should go unrecognized. The CORE seems to have a lot of potential to really bring monsters and humans together through the integration of monster tech into society. Who knows? It could become that big! That will be something to bring up with the Governor of the House. But for the time being, we'd like to know how it works. Perhaps in a couple of weeks my associates and I can expect to see you…?"

And do you know what Alphys said? "I cannot accept, but I appreciate the offer." … I'm kidding. She was nodding her head while spouting something that sounded like agreement. The mayor was thrilled and Alphys began working on her presentation.

Except she didn't know where to start. At all. She spent hours and hours trying to conjure up an explanation for the mechanics of the CORE (on TOP of doing her normal job for Toriel's school) that went nowhere. Undyne and Frisk were notably concerned (especially Undyne) about how much energy Alphys was pouring into this project. There were even times where Alphys did not eat a smidge all day. "Alphs," Undyne says to her, "I think you're overworking yourself on this. You're the smartest person I know. You're the one who explained to me how the CORE works, so this won't be any different! You got this! And me 'n Frisk are here to help, so you're not going through this alone," but Alphys insisted that everything was going smoothly and that "o-o-organization is r-really the key here. Um… so… y-you two can… can, um… get the… posters and materials we need to give this p-presentation the right p-pizazz! Yeah… eh heh heh…"

The two were obviously still worried about Alphys' behavior but they did whatever they could to help move her project along. And GOLLY! Did they REALLY go to town! Figuratively _and_ literally. They went to every craft store buying the flashiest poster boards and brightest markers and paints. And then Frisk convinced Undyne to buy two large tubs of glitter?! Like, why?! They must have picked up the bad habit from Mettaton. Ugh. You should have seen what that poster looked like. No no! Wait! I take it back! It's a good thing you _didn't_ see it. You saved your eyeballs the torture! HA HA HA HA! Whew… heh heh… alright, little mean, but it did hurt to look at. I kid you not, it was like staring at the sun, but that was the point, I think. Really 'screaming' the facts in your face. Even though they were just all pictures. Regardless, it was not the most professional-looking presentation, but that's the Undyne-Frisk duo for you (I bet it would've been worse with Papyrus…) and Alphys had a bigger problem on her hands.

She was all sweaty and trembly the day of the presentation. Not a shocker to anyone that knows her, but it made it very difficult to hear her. She had to be asked to speak up several times! And her introduction was an absolute train wreck. If she had done at least one rehearsal, the truth would have come out at a more convenient time, but she refused. At least Undyne and Frisk were in the back of the conference room. It could've been—

…

Already? Hm, I'm not to the end yet, though…

… You don't mind staying a couple extra minutes? Maybe three…? Just so you can hear the rest of the story.

…

…

…

Okay, um… like I was saying, Alphys was fumbling her intro, saying something like, "E-e-e-everyone kn-knows the… C-CORE… is a… v-very… big… m-m-machine and, uh… int-t-t-imidating" and she went on like that for almost two minutes until she FINALLY had some sense to stop and say, "You know, I-I think… i-it would be more efficient to… s-s-s-simply take questions on… um… on what you all… um… h-have questions on about the… th-the CORE! Uh… any questions… ehehehe?"

But that didn't really help because the OBVIOUS question was, "How does the CORE work?" She starts going on tangents like "the magical electricity it produces is similar in composition to some bullets that monsters themselves can create", the theory that "there is a possible 'magic' field that coincides with the electromagnetic field that monster SOULs may be attuned to", and how "geothermal energy is the CORE's source of power".

One of the mayor's associates interrupts her. "With all due respect, you aren't answering the question. We're curious to know how the CORE works— its inner mechanics and how it differs from geothermal power plants already in use. Is it more beneficial? Is its output greater than current powerplants? That sort of information. Could you enlighten us on that?"

Most of the color from Alphys' face was gone at that point. "I… I, uh… I… excuse me." She runs out of the conference room into the hallway. Undyne and Frisk are right behind her.

"Alphy! Hey! Alphs! Hold on!" Undyne calls out to her. "Where are you going? Aren't you gonna finish the—"

"I CAN'T DO IT!" Alphys yells. She instantly corrects her tone and says, "I… I can't do it… because… *sigh*… I-I have no idea what I'm talking about. I looked at all the blueprints for the CORE time and time again, but I can't understand it! I've never understood it… I-It's like there's pieces of information missing and all these symbols I've never seen before. I'm not… I'm not smart enough to figure out how this works. But with so many people depending on me… with so many people I've failed… I felt like I really needed to do something important on my own. I didn't want to embarrass myself by asking for help, but I ended up embarrassing myself anyway. *sigh*… guess I screwed up again, huh?"

Yep, she did. I mean, but… you know. She had her friends. They wouldn't give up on her that easily.

Frisk tells Alphys (or rather, Undyne _confirmed_ that Frisk said this at one point. Frisk just gave a thumbs-up. Their answers are terse like that) that the mayor will understand the situation. Alphys most likely won't become a consult, but if she gets to work together on the project with other scientists, the mystery of the CORE could be solved and the work on it by itself could bring monsters and humans closer together. I'm not sure if that's true, but it couldn't hurt to try.

Oh! I also remember this:

"And Alphy, you really don't have to prove anything. You don't have to DO something to prove you have worth. … Do you need another round of training with Papyrus? He's just a phone call away. I can get him here right now!"

"Oh n-n-no. I'm… I'm okay…"

"You're WHAT? ? ?"

"I'm… I'm VERY… okay? ? ?"

"We'll work on it. Fuhuhu!"

Heh. Little piece of the conversation for you. And that's pretty much what happened. The mayor was a little more disappointed than predicted, but that passed quickly when they became so enthused at the prospect of actively learning about the CORE. So, things worked out. That's probably why Alphys is over there now.

Anyway, I'd love to say a little more, but I better let you go.

Talk to you soon!

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 **Author's Note:** Hope you enjoyed that chapter! If you liked it, why not leave a review? I'd greatly appreciate it!

Until next time!


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